Wheat Belly Wednesday - Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

My biggest news this week is that I just adopted a new dog.  My new boy's name is Zeke and he came from Best Friends Animal Society in Utah.  He is a hound mix, not a golden retriever like Luke is.  When I volunteered at Best Friends earlier in the month, Zeke was one of our sleepover dogs.  He is 12 years old, a senior boy, and the sweetest friendliest old guy.  His former owners had left him at Animal Control in Los Angeles (which is fortunately a no-kill shelter).  Zeke had a number of health issues, including being quite overweight, needing to visit the doggie dentist, and having arthritis in his hips and knees, and Best Friends made sure he got the care he needed.  After I came home from Utah, I kept thinking (and worrying about Zeke), so I contacted Best Friends about him, and the short version of the story is that he traveled via United Airlines to Chicago last Friday.  He has been with us for a week and is settling in.  He is still learning the household routine and establishing boundaries with Luke and Teddy (like letting them know when they are getting too close when Zeke is eating). 

I often need chicken stock or broth for recipes and was quite surprised to learn that not all commercially available stocks and broths are gluten free.  You need to read the label, and unless it specifically states that the stock or broth is gluten-free, assume that it has gluten in it or was made in a factory that also processes wheat.  Even some of the organic brands contain gluten.  Aldi, Trader Joe and Costco's Kirkland brand of stock or broth all state on the label that they are gluten-free.

Of course, the best chicken stock is the homemade kind.  Not only do you know for sure that it's gluten free, it's delicious!  You can also control the amount of salt in the recipe.  The recipe for slow cooker chicken stock is based on my grandmother's chicken stock recipe, except she used to simmer the stock on the stovetop.  When she would roast a chicken on Sundays, she would pick as much meat as she could off the bones and save the carcass, the neck, the back, and the drippings from the roasting pan for chicken stock.  She would scrape everything into a big kettle, add vegetables and water, bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and let it all simmer for hours.  Making the stock in the slow cooker means I can turn the slow cooker on when I leave for work and come home to at least a half gallon of hot chicken stock and a house that smells like heaven.  Since you're working from cooked bones, there is no foam to have to skim off the top like there is when you make broth from raw chicken.  This method works well with turkey bones, too, so don't throw out that Thanksgiving turkey carcass (note that turkey stock is usually fattier than chicken stock).  The dogs absolutely LOVE a ladle of warm stock over their kibble.  Enjoy as is with vegetables and/or cooked rice, or in recipes.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock:

1 chicken carcass or the bones from 4 chicken breasts or leg quarters, with cooked skin and roasting pan drippings
1 large onion, peeled and cut into eighths
2 carrots, washed or peeled and cut into four pieces
2 celery ribs, washed and cut into four pieces
1 t. salt
5 peppercorns
1 T. dried parsley
water

Place all ingredients except water into the crock of your slow cooker.  Add enough water to cover everything and stir to mix ingredients.  Water should be about 1/2 inch from the top of the crock.  Cover, plug in, and turn on low setting.  Allow to cook for 8-10 hours - don't lift the lid while the stock is cooking, as this will just add to the cooking time.  You can let the stock cook for up to 14 hours, since the slow cooker heat is so low and even.

When the stock is finished, allow it to cool slightly.  If you have the lift-out kind of crock on your slow cooker, remove the crock and place it on a cooling rack for about an hour.  Strain the stock into a large storage container or a 3-quart stockpot.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  In the morning, remove and discard any fat that has hardened on top.  If the stock has jelled, it will liquify as soon as you heat it.  Makes 2-3 quarts of chicken stock.

Wheat Belly Wednesday - Week #5?

I'm not sure exactly what week it is for my Wheat Belly diet, since I was on vacation last week and stayed with the gluten-free plan as best I could, but didn't manage to stay with it all the time.  So I'm not sure if I should call this week #5, or start over with week #1.

With three friends from As Good as Gold, I spent the week volunteering at the animal sanctuary for Best Friends Animal Society in Utah.  We have done this in past years as well.  It was a wonderful week - I spent time working with the dogs and the bunnies, and two mornings working with one of the groundskeepers in the cemetery on the premises, cutting sage, sweeping the sidewalks, and brushing off the markers. 

Working in the cemetery is not as depressing as you might think.  It's called Angels Rest and it is a very peaceful place.  So much love for the animals buried there, from their human companions!  It's very spiritual and emotional to work there, and I always feel that I am standing in for the families that can't visit right now.  The groundskeepers (Lenny, Dave, and Kurt) encourage us to talk to the animals while we work. 

Best Friends has a dining  room for the staff and volunteers, and everything they serve for lunch is vegetarian.  There is always a salad bar and frequently gluten-free choices like stir-fry vegetables, so the days that we ate lunch there, I was able to remain gluten-free.  Cocktail time was easy - wine, cheese, nuts and raw vegetables.  For other meals, I tried to make choices that should have been gluten-free, but might not have been since I couldn't see an ingredient list.  I had no major stomach upsets, so that was a good thing.  But now I am back on my wheat-free plan and hope to see good results in the coming weeks.

Literary Monday - Two novels of identity

I was on vacation last week and did not have my laptop with me, so I didn't post anything.  I spent the week in Utah with some friends from As Good as Gold, volunteering at Best Friends Animal Society's sanctuary near Kanab.  I walked dogs, cleaned dog kennels and bunny enclosures, worked with one of the caretakers at the cemetery on the premises, and generally helped with whatever the animal caregivers needed.  In the evenings, there was plenty of time to sit around with a bottle of wine and talk, or relax with a book.  Two of the books that I read are worth noting.

The Chaperone by Laura Moriarty - When she agrees to act as chaperone for the daughter of an acquaintance (the daughter will later become famous as silent film actress Louise Brooks), wealthy, matronly, lonely Cora Carlisle has her own agenda for wanting to leave her home in Wichita and spend a few weeks in New York City.  While Louise attends classes at the Denishawn School of Dancing, Cora sets out to find out what she can about the mother who abandoned her as a toddler.  In the process, she comes to realize that her life is far from over, and that the prejudices and social codes of her economic class are often as stiff and uncomfortable as the corset that Cora wears relentlessly for the first half of the book.  Cora's life story (past, present, and future) turns out to be very different from what the reader expects when we first meet Cora.  A novel of changing identities and beliefs, as well as the transformative power of love and acceptance.

The Shoemaker's Wife by Adriana Trigiani - Known for her Big Stone Gap and Valentine series, Trigiani explores her own identity and family history as she writes the story of her grandparents' lives:  how they found each other, lost each other, and unexpectedly found each other again in a new country.  Hardship and injustice are no match for true love and perseverence, even when the past catches up with you.